Cassie Black
Cassiopeia Andromeda "Cassie" Black (1 May, 1981 - 2 May, 1998) was an English pure-blood witch, the youngest daughter of Lyra Black and the only daughter of Tom Avery. She was also the half-sister of Amber Black. She was born into the wealthy House of Black, who was a part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Cassie attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1992-1998 and was sorted into Gryffindor House. She became the best friend of Ginny Weasley and Violet Willis, Gryffindors in her year. Cassie became one of the most important members of the secret organisation, Dumbledore's Army which was taught by Harry Potter, in her fourth year. In her sixth year she was one of those who restarted it alongside Violet, Ginny, Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom. In her fifth year she became the Beater for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Cassie fought in many battles such as the Battle of the Department of Mysteries (1996), the Battle of the Astronomy Tower (1997) and the Battle of Hogwarts (1998). Cassie was murdered by her aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, in the first half of the Battle of Hogwarts. Her death was later avenged by Violet. Cassie briefly appeared again to Harry through the Resurrection Stone along with James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. After the Second Wizarding War, Violet named her youngest daughter in her honor and made Cassie's sister the godmother. Biography Early life (1981-1992) Cassie was spoiled rotten by her father as a child. He paid little attention to her sister, and instead focused on Cassie. She was given everything she could ever want, but instead of becoming selfish, she became considerate and kind. Hogwarts years (1992-1998) First year Cassie started her Hogwarts years in 1992 and was sorted into Gryffindor house. She shared a dorm with Violet Willis, Ginny Weasley, Regan Hallow and Heather Alberts, becoming best friends with the two former. She gained a crush on the famous Harry Potter who was a year ahead of her and who she had been introduced to through Violet. She adventured into the Chamber of Secrets at the end of May alongside Violet, Harry, Ron Weasley and Gildory Lockhart to rescue Ginny. She was separated alongside Harry and the two ventured further into the Chamber. She was taken hostage by Tom Riddle, but Harry destroying the diary set her free. Second year In her second year, her first cousin, once removed, Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban. Cassie had always idolized Sirius for being in Gryffindor just as she was, but was very disappointed he had been put into Azkaban. Cassie tried out for the Quidditch Team, but didn't make it. Violet did, which sparked the first bits of jealousy Cassie carried. She went to Violet's house for a week during the summer holidays where Violet told her parents and Cassie about Sirius Black's innocence. Cassie was very happy to hear this and continued to idolize Sirius. Third year The year the Triwizard Tournament was held. She was very concerned for Harry when his name was drawn. She supported him as best she could during the first task and grew quite close with him when Ron had abandoned him. She wasn't planning on going to the Yule Ball, and was quite fine just chilling with Violet in the common room. However, at the last minute she was asked by Harry to her great delight. She danced with Harry through the night and had a lot of fun. She was very concerned during the second task because Ron and Gabrielle was rescued but no Harry and was very happy when he shot out of the water. She and Harry spent quite some time together after the second task, Harry having gained a wider interest in her. They became really close until the third task where Harry returned, but Cedric had been killed. Harry isolated himself a lot, leaving Cassie in the dark. Which greatly disturbed her. Fourth year After having a conversation with Violet, who urged her to get over Harry and find another, she started a relationship with Dean Thomas, a fellow Gryffindor in Harry's year. She was very happy with Dean, who also believed Harry when he said Voldemort had returned. During her first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, she almost lashed out on Umbridge when she called Remus Lupin a "filthy half-breed", but Violet beat her to it thereby getting detention. She didn't like Umbridge at all, and urged Harry to do something about it. She was one of the first to join Dumbledore's Army once Hermione suggested it and became invested in it. In December Dean had pulled her aside to talk with her about the way she looked at Harry and that he was very aware of her feelings for him. She tried telling him she had gotten over Harry, but Dean didn't believe her. He knew Harry liked her too, as he had been very cold towards Dean whenever he spoke of how happy he was with her. He broke up with her and encouraged her to talk with Harry. Cassie kissed Dean a last time and thanked him for being an outstanding boyfriend. At the last D.A. meeting, Dean had winked at her, suggesting she should talk to Harry. She did and they begun talking about Harry's parents and Cedric. After a while a mistletoe appeared in the ceiling which prompted the two to kiss for the first time. Cassie commented that it was nice and she liked it. Harry said he did too. Cassie then wished him a Merry Christmas and left the room. She spent Christmas at home with her family, and felt like her father had changed a lot since summer. The air seemed thicker in her home and she couldn't wait to get back to school. Cassie and Harry eventually started a relationship, and Cassie supported Harry in his Occulumency and during this accidentally discovered her talent in Legilimency. After Snape had cancelled his lessons, Cassie started teaching him to block his mind. She however wasn't trained in Legilimency, so had to take some time getting control. She was however able to penetrate Harry's mind and broke down afterwards, not having been able to understand the pressure Harry was under. Harry and Cassie eventually grew closer due to this. An order meeting in February is interrupted by Cassie's sister, Amber, who ends up joining the army stating she'd probably learn more there than with the rubbish Umbridge is teaching. Later in April the D.A. is discovered and is forced to have detention with those writing quills that scratch the back of your hand. When Harry had the vision of Sirius in the Department of Mysteries she was one of the first to suggest they go rescue him. She was caught by Draco Malfoy when trying to help Neville and Ginny and the three of them were taken to Umbridge's office where she had already caught Harry. Umbridge threatened to use the Cruciatus Curse after Snape told her he had no more Veritaserum which scared Cassie so she used Legilimency on Umbridge, seeing her greatest defeats and trying to use them at her. Umbridge was then close to using the curse on her as well, before Hermione told Harry to tell her where it was. She lured Umbridge and Harry out of the room and into the Forbidden Forest, leaving Cassie, Ginny, Ron, Luna, Violet, and Neville alone with the Inquisitorial Squad. They managed to break free using skills that they had acquired in their D.A. sessions; Cassie hit Pansy Parkinson with a Head Shrink Hex. They then regrouped with Harry and Hermione, who had left Umbridge with a group of enraged centaurs. Convinced that Sirius was in mortal danger, Harry resolved to travel to London and rescue him. Although Harry tried to prevent Cassie, Violet, Ginny, Neville, and Luna from accompanying him, Ron and Hermione eventually persuaded otherwise. After flying Thestrals to London, they entered the Ministry of Magic using the visitor's entrance and headed for the Department of Mysteries. In the Hall of Prophecy, they found no sign of Sirius, but Ron did find a prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort, but pertaining only to Harry. As Harry removed it from the shelf, the group was surrounded by Death Eaters led by Lucius Malfoy. Cassie recognized her father and was thoroughly disappointed in him, telling him she no longer considered him her father. They learned that Voldemort had used the connection between himself and Harry to lure him there to remove the prophecy. Cassie was sadistically threatened with torture by Bellatrix Lestrange, who wanted to use the Cruciatus Curse on her to force Harry to hand over the prophecy, thus hoping to avoid the inevitable fight that would breakout. At Harry's signal, all eight D.A. members fired Reductor Curses at the shelves to distract the Death Eaters and began running. Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Luna had taken another path and Harry, Violet, Cassie, and Neville did not know where they were. Chaos ensued, Cassie's group was chased through various rooms. When in the Death Chamber, all but Harry and Neville were incapacitated in the fighting. Cassie was taken hostage by Antonin Dolohov. Then reinforcements from the Order of the Phoenix, alerted by Snape, arrived to help aid in the battle. Cassie used the Full Body-Bind on her father. In the ensuing fighting, Sirius Black was murdered by a killing curse from his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, and fell through a mysterious stone arch. Violet had then revealed he was her father and had raced after Bellatrix with the Cruciatus Curse. After having defeated the other Death Eater in the Death Chamber, the other six D.A. raced after Violet and Harry and found Harry possessed by Voldemort. Cassie could feel Voldemort using Legilimency against Harry. Upon seeing his friends and Cassie, he managed to fight out Voldemort with his power of love. Voldemort disappeared, but not before the Minister of Magic arrived and saw him, acknowledging his return. Violet was nowhere to be seen and Harry told them Bellatrix had apparated with her. Back at Hogwarts, Cassie was treated for her wounds, and was informed of the capture of her father. She had a meeting with Dumbledore about Legilimency and if she wished to have lessons. She thanked no and that she didn't want to pursue the ability more than she had to. Harry distanced himself from her due to the death of Sirius, but Cassie refused to let herself be thrown to the side and confronted Harry about it. Harry had jokingly asked what happened with the shy girl he had met in his second year, to which she responded that the war could change people. Fifth year It hadn't been a particularly good summer for Cassie as she had spent a good deal of it worrying over Violet and Harry. She had also been spending the summer in court with her father who had used the excuse of the Imperius Curse, which hadn't held up. Her mother was facing a lot of backlash which put pressure on her family. Amber, had then spilled to both Cassie and her mother that she was aware Tom wasn't her father and that it was Remus Lupin and that she had figured it out in her fourth year. She also revealed she felt no remorse for the man who were supposed to be her father, and didn't care if he rotted in Azkaban. Her mother then told them that she never wanted to marry their father and she only did because she had no choice. Cassie then felt like the odd one out, as she was jealous of Amber for having good parents, whereas she had a Death Eater for a father. Getting back to Hogwarts she finally was reunited with Violet, who assured her everything was fine. She also revealed she had been appointed Prefect and was therefore getting her own room, so she wasn't bunking with Cassie and Ginny. This sparked Cassie's jealousy further. She was also very disappointed that Violet had not told her and Ginny about her relationship with Draco Malfoy, feeling slightly betrayed. She made the Quidditch Team on Harry's insistence and made Beater alongside Ritchie Cootes, a Gryffindor in her year. She was still going strong with Harry, but due to getting jealously get the better of her, she distanced herself. She went with Harry, Ron and Hermione to Hogsmeade in October and witnessed Katie Bell being cursed. Harry immediately blamed Draco and urged Cassie to speak with Violet. Cassie did as she was told which ended in a big fight between the two that left them not speaking to each other. Cassie was very saddened by this as she felt like she lost a part of herself. She played her first match later which resulted in Gryffindor's win much to their delight. At the after party, Ron and Violet was cheered on, due to Ron being one of the best Keeper's Gryffindor had seen and Violet scoring over 100 points. Cassie left the room in tears, her jealousy getting the best of her. She was later comforted by Harry who left when Violet appeared. The two girls reconciled after Cassie told Violet everything about her father, feeling worthless, and her sudden jealousy. Violet understood her and told her she wished she had told Cassie about Draco, but she had promised not to tell anyone. Cassie understood and promised to be more understand, if Violet in return stopped distancing herself from them. Cassie was invited to Slughorn's Christmas party by Harry. She attended and was present when Ginny came in crying because of Dean. She felt bad as she had once dated Dean as well. Relationships Family Lyra Black Cassie was very close with her mother growing up, as her mother always provided her with warmth and love. She was also taught by her mother that it didn't matter what type of blood you had or which house you had been sorted into at Hogwarts. And what truly mattered was what came from within. In 1996 when her father was taken to Azkaban, her mother accidentally revealed she only had Cassie to make sure she had a child with her husband. This caused a deep rift between Cassie and her mom, because Cassie felt insignificant and like a mistake. She felt unloved. They fortunately reconciled the following year, when Cassie broke down in front of her mother of her concerns for the year that laid ahead. When Cassie's corpse was carried into the Great Hall at the Battle of Hogwarts, her mother completely broke down crying. She never got over her death and would continue to mourn her for the rest of her life. Tom Avery Cassie was spoiled rotten by her father, because she was his only heir. He would tell her the opposite of what her mother told her. That Cassie was special because she was pureblooded. She was raised by her father to believe that Slytherin was the only house for her. However, upon being sorted, she was sorted into Gryffindor. This deeply angered her father, but he was able to see past it because she was all he had. In 1996, Cassie found out her father was a Death Eater and fought against him in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. In the trials against her father, she was to put forward her testimony and had difficulty telling the truth, because she was scared of what they would do to him. She believed family should come above everything else. Amber Black Growing up, Cassie always believed her and her sister to be equals. She loved her sister very much, but was unaware of the pressure her sister was under. Amber had always felt pressured to fight for their father's love, while Cassie swam in it. Despite this, Amber maintained a loving relationship with her sister until 1994, when Amber discovered her true parentage. She started to act more like her own person and rarely did what their father asked of her, which hurt Cassie as she hated to see her sister hurt. Amber mourned Cassie greatly upon her death. Harry Potter Cassie met Harry Potter in her first year at Hogwarts. She quickly developed a crush on him, despite him barely acknowledging her existence. In the end of her first year, she ventured into the Chamber of Secrets with him and he saved her life from Tom Riddle and it was then Harry realized she friendship he could have in Cassie who proved to be very resourceful. In her second year, Harry distanced himself from her, which didn't surprise her. In her third year she was approached by Harry the night before the Yule Ball where he ask- ed her to be his date. She said yes and taught him to dance that night and the following day, which resulted in Harry and Cassie having the time of their life, dancing at the Yule Ball. She continued to help Harry throughout his tasks. Cassie also often stood up for Harry. Defending him when people talked bad about him. She punched a Slytherin in the face in 1992 when he joked around with Harry being the Heir of Slytherin. And again in 1995 when a Gryffindor classmate had said Harry was a liar for saying Voldemort was back. She also smashed a bludger into a Slyherin Beater in 1996, when he almost smashed one into Harry's head. She began dating Dean Thomas in her fourth year, taking Violet's advice to seek out other boys. This made Harry visibly jealous, although he continued to act civil around her. Around Christmas, Dean had urged her to speak with Harry, as Dean had noticed the way the two acted towards each other. After a D.A. meeting she and Harry got to talking and a mistletoe transfigured over their heads. They kissed then for the first time. After Christmas, Harry asked Cassie to be his girlfriend. It was also then that the two discovered that Cassie's patronus took the form of a doe, while Harry's took the form of a stag, just like Harry's parents. At the end of Cassie's fifth year, Harry broke up with her. He realized if they continued dating openly, Voldemort would seek to use her to get to him as he had done previously. Calling the break up an "act of nobility", Cassie accepted his decision, but always held onto the hope that he would return to her. While hunting for Horcruxes, Harry would stare at her dot on the Marauder's Map for hours, hoping that she could somehow sense that he was watching over her. At school, Cassie participated in and helped lead an underground rebellion, during which she, Ginny, Neville, and Luna even attempted to steal Godric Gryffindor's Sword from the Headmaster's office. They had heard that it was left to Harry in Dumbledore's will and guessed that he needed it. When they next saw each other shortly before the Battle of Hogwarts. When the battle began, Harry wanted Cassie to stay out of the fighting but she stated that she would fight until her last dying breath. She accompanied Harry, Hermione, Ron and Violet to the boathouse when Voldemort's last horcrux remained, Nagini. On the way back she was hit with a slashing curse and died in Harry's arms, which broke Harry completely. As Harry prepared to be killed by Voldemort, he thought of Cassie, "her blazing looks, and the feel of her lips on his," and that he was gonna see her shortly. One of her last words, were that she encouraged Harry to be with Ginny, who she knew always had, had a crush on him. Harry followed her encouragement and married Ginny. He told his children about Cassie and made sure they knew who she was. Violet Willis Cassie met Violet after the two was sorted into the same house at Hogwarts and the two became best of friends. Violet was very interested in the things Cassie could tell and the girls eventually got a deep understanding of each other. They worked together in their first year to save their best friend, Ginny, and in their second year Cassie stood by her when Harry was angry with her. Cassie defended Violet on multiple occasions. In 1992 when she was called a mudblood, Cassie retaliated saying Violet was worth ten of the one who called her it. She knocked a bludger in the direction of the Slytherin Quidditch commentator when he made rude remarks about her. Although she always defended Violet, she herself became very jealous of her which greatly severed their bond. The girls went through a rough patch in November 1996 when Cassie felt betrayed and angry with Violet for keeping so many secrets and not trusting her with them. Violet then told Cassie her deepest secret and Cassie understood her best friend again. They supported each other greatly afterwards, as Cassie's father had gone to Azkaban and Violet had lost hers. Violet made Cassie promise to be her anchor and that Cassie would help her not loose herself. In their sixth year when Violet regularly paid visit to Malfoy Manor, Cassie made sure Violet didn't forget her morals and still remembered who she was. It mostly paid off until February 1998 when Violet didn't return from the Manor. Cassie was very worried for her best friend in this period and was very excited to see her alive when she returned in May to fight for Hogwarts alongside Harry, Hermione and Ron. Etymology Like many members of the House of Black, Cassie was named after a constellation; Cassiopeia. The constellation is in turn named after Queen Cassiopeia of Greek mythology, a beautiful but vain woman whose arrogant boasting led to her downfall. The name is derived from the Greek Κασσιόπη, meaning "she whose words excel".